Recently, old-school cryptocurrencies like LTC and ETC have started to rebound again. The candlestick charts look very promising, and technical indicators are turning stronger. On the surface, it seems like capital is rotating, and the market has finally recognized these undervalued "value hotspots."

But on-chain data tells a completely different story.

The whale long-short ratios for LTC and ETC are only 0.22 and 0.31 respectively. In other words, big funds have already been deploying short positions in this rebound. Short positions hold an absolute advantage. This is not a coincidence; it's smart money betting — they don't believe this rally can go very far.

It’s always like this. When there’s no strong narrative support, the rebound of old projects is just a liquidity game. Retail investors see the price rise and chase in, only to find that big funds have already set traps at high levels. Short-term price movements? That’s just the tail end of capital speculation, not the start of value discovery.

Instead of following the trend and chasing these short-term ups and downs, it’s better to focus on projects that are genuinely building something. Ecosystems that continuously create verifiable externalities are worth paying attention to. True value isn’t reflected in the candlestick charts but in traceable on-chain actions.

For example, projects rooted in real-world applications that continuously invest in social good through on-chain mechanisms. Every contribution can be verified, and every participation points to real social impact. This operational logic is the true direction that the crypto world should pursue.